The Infection
by sparks4
Summary: 40k/animorphs. Foreword inside explains the awkward match up. Basically an Inquisitor and his team are pulled through time to the very distant past. The long awaited update, here it is.
1. A Foreword

So I'm sitting here bored out of my mind

I decide I feel like writing some more

So I start thinking crossover, but I don't want to do just any crossover, its gotta mean something to me.

So obviously 40k is awesome, then I look about my room and I see an old "Animorphs" over on a shelf somewhere, I am aware its an incredibly juvenile series, but it was the shit from back in the day when I was like twelve. I think I can manage to darken it a bit, besides, who doesn't love high and mighty characters getting shot down by even higher and mightier characters? And I wanted to do a crossover of a different sort, no cataclysmic confrontations of opposing forces. No one universe beating the zog out of the another one just so I can go "LOL SPESS MEHREENS"

Just an Inquisitor, his team, and the equipment they happened to bring with them

No way back.

Originally I posted this in the animorphs section, but that is just full of idiot fangirls I think, or people otherwise not interested in things that are awesome, like 40k.

I like reviews, they allow me to improve on my writing style.

So anybody who wants to slog it through would be fantastic.

And there is my foreword

Sparks4


	2. The Lost

312.999.M41

The World of Principia IV

Segmentum Obscurus

The air was thick with incense and sorcery, unholy energies played across the walls of the cavern lighting the pitch darkness for an instant. Vegetation was nil as the corrupting influence of Chaos had killed it long ago. I kept my plasma pistol raised in readiness, as we slowly made our way through the cave, my mind probing the darkness beyond, searching for the enemies of mankind.

My name is Heinrich Wilhelm and I am an Inquisitor of His Imperial Majesty's Most Glorious Inquisition of the Ordo Malleus. I am four hundred and twelve years old, thanks to extensive juvenat treatments and other cybernetic augmentations granted to me by my position in the Inquisition of the Immortal Emperor. I am of average height and a medium build, but it is not my physical prowess that set me above my peers, I am a powerful psyker and when the black ships came for me in my youth I was judged capable of training to become an Inquisitor.

What else is there? My eyes are blue like ice and my hair silver. I am called cold by some people, cruel by others, but they do not understand what entails being an Inquisitor, they do not know the gravity of the decisions I make, it is not with a light heart that I order the destruction of worlds nor with a smile that I raze entire cities to the ground burning the innocent with the guilty. It is what needs to be done to combat the enemies of man, the mutant, the alien, the heretic, and the traitor.

I had been tracking this cultist cell to its root for a year and a half now, and I believe I have finally pinpointed the heart of the bastards. Time to rip it out.

Alise stood next to me, lasgun held close to her chest and her thermal goggles peering into the darkness, her hair was golden and her features sculpted and beautiful, an advantage of being associated with the Inquisition is the best medical treatment in the whole of the galaxy, she was short and muscular yet still feminine. The others were unseen, staying to the shadows.

We continued down the way, my mind was surveying the surroundings when I found something, a ripple, an irregularity in the material realm.

"I've found the heretics, stay quiet and move up, we're about to run into them" I whispered into the vox.

Light flickered from around the next corner, and soon I could make out chanting in a language I could not understand, and it hurt my ears listening to it.

Hooded figures each with nine stripes down the sides of there robes, nine torches arranged in a circle, symbols drawn in blood, and nine sacrifices in the center. Each one of these beings was a psyker, that much I could sense, but how powerful were they?

That didn't matter, they were strong enough, these were Tzeentchian cultists, high ranking ones at that.

One by one my retinue voxed their readiness to exorcise this cancer from the Emperor's realm.

I checked my plasma pistol and gave the order

"Now"

All was a blur of motion after that, three of the figures broke off of the circle and faced us down, surprise was lacking in their facial features, instead they seemed serene as if this was according to their plan.

Two turned to the rest of my warband, the last one turned to me and Alise.

"Filth." I spat, I unleashed my potent mind upon him, and I was released from the prison of my body, moving to attack the tzeentchian lunatic.

His mind collided with mine and we tumbled about, shattering and rending the stone around us, the temperature shifted from hot to cold and electricity played about the air.

By the Throne he is powerful, my equal in every way, he was a trained, most likely a rogue sanctioned psyker. His powers boosted by the obscene symbols and the attention of his patron deity.

I didn't have time to face this abomination down, the ritual needed to be ended before the ends of the cultists could be accomplished, were they trying to summon a Daemon? Or perhaps attempting to open a portal to the warp itself? It didn't matter, I wouldn't let them succeed.

Then suddenly, the psychic battle was over, his mind simply disappeared, all that remained was the echo of his death scream.

I frantically looked about in confusion and saw Alise grinning wildly at a crater that wasn't there before.

She ran back to me and I looked her up and down.

"You're missing your grenade belt" I told her

"I know sir" she replied still smiling

"One would have worked, a terrible waste of material"

"Couldn't risk it lord, time is short" she countered

With that I simply moved on, frowning through the din.

Alise was young and faithful, but her bloodlust needed to be tempered lest it consume her, last thing I needed was a disciple of the Blood God in my retinue.

As we came upon the other cultists they began to look at each other in confusion, apparently we had upset the plan. Shame for them.

I blasted one with a superheated shot from my plasma pistol, leaving a burning whole in his chest, he died without a sound.

And the other cultists were overcome by my team, and they moved in to assist in the slaughter of the damned.

As the last one fell, I gleaned from his last dying thoughts that the ritual had been completed but the results weren't what he was expecting, some of the blood of the cultists had entered the sacrificial circle and there was more than necessary, something new was happening.

The walls and ground began to shake with seismic activity and light consumed the cavern. I was blind, then suddenly, I lost consciousness.


	3. The Awakening

Time and place unknown

I awoke on the ground, in the dirt, in what appeared to be an abandoned construction site. The stars gently twinkled overhead and I realized I was no longer in the cave. My team all lay unconscious but alive at my feet, then that means I'm the first to wake up then. I cast my mind out and found I was on a human world, but I couldn't see any signs of Imperial authority. There were five youths close by, and apparently they planned to take a shortcut back to their homes, I decided then to observe their demeanor and decide how to approach them, though they didn't appear to be cultists their allegiances were yet unknown.

There was a bright flash in the sky as an alien looking craft descended, the surface thoughts of the children shown surprise and disbelief at what they were seeing. The craft was sleek and angular, definitely not any Imperial design, and its origin was all but confirmed as a Xeno I had never seen before stepped out from the light of the inside.

I could tell that it was wounded though how badly was a mystery as I hadn't had the chance to dissect one of its kind before, it continued to hold its head up.

I used my mind to glean its surface thoughts without alerting it to my invading consciousness. It was exhausted, and a bit afraid, not for itself however. The children seemed to have absolutely no idea what they were looking at as this creature with four legs, blue fur, eyes on its face and mounted on stalks, and a wicked curved blade strode to them, it carried itself like royalty, almost military-like, then it collapsed at the end of the ramp.

"Fatal most likely" I whispered to no one in particular.

It presented the assembled youths with a blue cube and they looked at each other in bewilderment, and all stepped forward and touched there hands to it, it glowed briefly and they pulled there hands away, as if electrically shocked.

They all seemed to stare with rapt attention at the Xeno, though it did not appear to be saying anything, it possibly had a basic form of telepathy used to communicate with other forms of life.

Then more lights in the sky, possibly a rescue team and the children scattered into hiding, I will need to track them down later for questioning, I made note of each mind so that it might be easier to find through the din of the city. The Xeno vehicles descended and out stepped another one of the four-legged aliens, flanked by yet another xenos abomination, a walking pillar of blades, heavily muscled and absolutely deadly, almost daemonic. The thoughts of these creatures were different however, disjointed, as if there were two minds in each of these creatures, maybe a form of psychic scrambling? I made note to interrogate one at a later date for the mechanics behind it.

The two similar aliens seemed to converse and suddenly I heard a booming voice in my head

_Well, well_ My theory of psychic conversation was confirmed then

_What have we here? A meddling Andalite?_ It felt gloating and malicious, most likely from the unwounded one. So this race was called Andalite? Or maybe it was an opposing faction? I edged silently closer for a better look.

_Ah, but no ordinary Andalite warrior. Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, if I am not mistaken. An honor to meet you. You're a legend. How many fighters have you shredded? Seven, or was it eight by the time the battle ended?_

A prince? Royalty, yet still a warrior, a leader of its kind then, I concluded.

_The very last Andalite in this sector of space. Yes, I am afraid your Dome ship has been completely destroyed. Completely. I watched it burn as it fell into the atmosphere of this little world._

_There will be others_, The fallen prince stated defiantly

The gloating one stepped a bit closer to the fallen Andalite.

_Yes, and when they come it will be too late. This world will be mine. My own contribution to the Yeerk Empire. Our greatest conquest. Then I'll be Visser One._ It retorted

_What do you want with these Humans?_ It asked. _You have your Taxxon allies. You have your Hork-Bajir slaves. And other slaves from other worlds. Why these people?_

This Xeno sounded genuinely concerned about the welfare of humanity, interesting, must research further into that. I was becoming frustrated as no one had said the name of the world I was on.

_Because there are so many, and they are so weak_, Blasphemy uttered from this filth's mouth

_Billions of bodies! And they have no idea what's happening. With this many hosts we can spread throughout the universe, unstoppable! Billions of us. We'll have to build a thousand new Yeerk pools just to raise Yeerks for half this number of bodies. Face it, Andalite, you have fought well and bravely, but you have lost._ I realized that this was a parasitic species, using bodies as hosts, they seemed to have two minds because there actually _were_ two minds inhabiting each body, interesting biology. Must acquire a specimen for study.

I could sense more creatures, vast wormlike abominations, and humans, obviously infected with the xenos parasite.

The Yeerk as he called his species stepped forward again. I could feel the Prince's fear emanating from him in waves, yet he stood through pain of his wound, seeking to die standing instead of laying in the dirt.

_I promise you one thing, Prince Elfangor, when we have this planet_, Still no title for this world, I remarked angrily,_ With its rich harvest of bodies, we will move against the Andalite home world. I will personally hunt down your family. And I will personally oversee my most faithful lieutenants in their heads. I hope they will resist, so I can hear their minds scream._

The wounded one struck, the motion was a blur as it sliced through the air, only by the barest fraction did it miss the gloating one's head, but buried itself deeply into its shoulder. The parasite screamed in pain and rage. Mostly rage. Then a beam of energy erupted from the Alien prince's ship tearing melting one of its enemies fighters to slag.

Then the walking blades stepped forward and held the Andalite down, presenting the killing blow to their leader.

Then something happened.

The Yeerk began to shift in shape, morphing, its body grew to titanic proportions, a bestial thing with tentacles and massive legs. Was this perhaps the true nature of the Yeerk? Did it simply copy host functions to perform as exact replicas? I ruled this theory out, judging from the surface thoughts of the assembled infected bodyguard, this seemed to be a unique occurrence among their kind. When it finished its transformation, it picked the struggling Andalite off the ground, despite it thrashing violently with its bladed tail, and swallowed him whole.

I saw my chance to get some answers.

I unleashed my full strength, as none of the onlookers were psyker of any kind I could operate undetected, and I forced my way into the thoughts of the, soon to be deceased, Andalite. He resisted at first, confused as to what was actually happening, but I didn't have much time until he was expired so I ripped through his thoughts without my usual finesse, the information wouldn't be as complete, but it was my only option.

As I battered my way through every mental facility grabbing whatever nuggets of information I could, he expired as the monstrous creature began to chew its food.

I sifted through what I had gleaned and realized what planet I was on, to my absolute shock.

Earth.

Then something positively horrifying began to dawn on me.

When am I?


	4. The Beginning

I just sat there, dumbfounded. If this was Earth, and it still was host to a plethora of life, that means I was in a time far predating my Imperium and possibly even my Emperor.

That thought alone sent shivers up and down my spine.

My reverie was broken when one of the bladed horrors snapped around and shouted in its foul alien tongue orders to the other abominations. They loped off at great speed into the darkness. Apparently the children had attracted their attention. I used my mental "gifts" to keep them from our resting place. And they stayed away, not even noticing our little hiding spot. I used my abilities to help the children in their escape, not out of the kindness of my heart, but because I would need to question each one at a later date. An alien is just a bit slower, they are able to run a bit longer, nothing overdramatic, just what needed to be done to keep them alive and well. When all had left the premises, I was left to sit and think with my unconscious comrades on the ground beside me.

I slept a little then, but not well, in the end I gave up and watched the Sol rise and Luna fade. My team began to stir, the first to awaken was Alise Lindstrom, an ex-guard, but she was not an ordinary member of the Emperor's Army, she was far above her compatriots, adept at resisting the temptations of Chaos, hand to hand combat, and she was a fantastic shot with her lasgun, able to accurately hit targets at an incredible distance. Her lasgun had been modified to allow a scope and a bit more power on the discharge. She was dressed in a standard issue Imperial flak jacket, giving her the mobility she preferred over the protection of, say carapace armour.

The next to awaken was Isaac Vinci, a trained assassin, his Exitus Sniper Rifle lay on the ground next to him. He was dressed in a black body glove and mask, an assassin of the Parthus Death Cult, he was not to be taken lightly, one of the most highly skilled men I have ever met.

Frederick Harlon stirred and rose, he brute of a man, ex-arbites, he has flourished under the tutelage and bionic enhancements of the Inquisition, far more dangerous than he looked, and he appeared to be quite deadly as is. He was dressed in his Carapace Armour and had his combat shotgun slung across his back, chainsword at his hip.

The last to awaken was Vera Laria, a psyker of considerable strength, she was partial to pyrokinesis, and other more offensive abilities, more about the manipulation of objects than the minds of her enemies. She wore a skintight body glove, were dark brunette hair allowed to fall past her shoulders, pale skin contrasting with the dark colors of the body glove.

I explained to them the situation we found ourselves in and we began to discuss our plans to survive in this time and place.

"Shouldn't we try to acclimate ourselves with the people here? Learn their language and their expressions so that we might blend better?" Vera suggested

"We should" I agreed, "All of you will go about, find out as much as you can, information is crucial at this stage if we are to remain undetected, Isaac you will find a base of operations, a tenement or something similar, we also must find access to utilities and food, Vera and Frederick that's your job, and Alise?"

"sir?"

"You're with me, we'll begin learning the language of Ancient Terra"

She nodded.

As they turned to leave I felt I needed to remind them, "And remember, this is Holy Terra, treat it with respect"

All nodded their affirmations.

After a few weeks our observation of the local populace yielded results, we began to copy movements and language, working out the nuances of it. We worked to rid ourselves of any accent and find out about the political climate around us, about who or what controlled this world.

Isaac was able to steal civilian clothes, emulating the styles of various tiers of society, though personally I preferred the comfort and relative safety of my carapace armour and trench coat. There were shelters that provided spaces to bathe and eat, presumably for the homeless and otherwise underprivileged. Our base of operations was an old tenement on the outskirts of town.

Soon we were ready.

My investigation would begin with each of the children present at the site of the alien's arrival and what it may have communicated to them.

We walked in pairs, Vera and Frederick, Alise and myself, Isaac hung back, carrying a case built for "guitars", a form of instrument, but inside he stored the pieces of his Exitus Rifle. I found the mind of one of the children easily after I had memorized it's feel, we arrived at a house of moderate size in comparison to the others we've seen, and of a similar design. Alise would do the talking while Vera and Frederick would begin to orbit around the block, using her powers to monitor all that was going on and keep Frederick informed, all the while acting as if a happy couple, happily chatting. Frederick's facial expression at being informed of his role was particularly humorous.

I would sit on a nearby park bench pretending to read the newspaper while monitoring the distraction psychically.

We attempted to dress Alise sexually appealing clothing, we found that the males responded favorably to her during our research phase, but were careful that we did not overdo it, or it may appear to be an obvious ruse.

We gathered and I gave Alise the go ahead, using her eyes for a few moments to see as she does.

She rang the doorbell.


	5. The Meeting

My name is Marco.

That's it. Just Marco. Well I do have a last name, but I can't go saying it for everyone.

For all intents and purposes, I appear to be a normal teenager. I go to school and hang out with friends and all that. I have a secret though, me and my friends. We fight aliens in our spare time, when we aren't busy pretending nothing is wrong. It all started when an alien called an Andalite crashed his ship into the abandoned construction site. His name was Elfangor, and he gave us power. We are able to transform into any creature we touch, from a small fly on the wall, to the mighty gorilla, to even another human being. This makes us masters of guerrilla warfare as we are virtually unable to be tracked or pinpointed. We fight an alien species known as the Yeerks, they are a parasitic alien slug. For all intents and purposes, they are harmless, but they have a terrifying ability, they enter through the ear and take control of the brain, sinking into all its crevices and rendering their host a puppet to their will, they gain access to all of their memories and personality, they can emulate them perfectly, which is why we can't trust anyone except for each other, controllers could be anywhere. Elfangor was killed shortly after talking with us, by Visser Three, a Yeerk warlord. He is the only one of his kind to take an Andalite host and gain the ability to morph, rocketing him through the ranks of the Yeerk hierarchy. Our only saving grace is that the Yeerks think we are Andalites so we are able to operate with relative ease while they're busy combing for awkward aliens.

I was sitting on the couch watching TV, my dad was at work and I really just didn't feel like going to school, it was the day after our raid on the Yeerk Pool, a place for the Yeerks to store their hosts while they feed on the Kandrona Rays. We managed to rescue a handful of their slaves, most having been recaptured or killed by the aliens. We barely made it out alive, and one of us ended up trapped in a morph. That's the downside to this power, you only have two hours, after that's up you're stuck in that form forever, there is no undoing it.

The doorbell rang. Odd. When I opened the door there stood an incredibly attractive girl, she looked worried about something.

"Can I help you?" I asked

"Um, yeah, my car broke down a ways down the street and I was hoping I could use you're phone?" She smiled sheepishly, apparently embarrassed.

This was odd, she spoke with the edges of an accent I couldn't quite place. She was pleasing to the eye, but that means nothing, could she be a controller sent to investigate possible culprits for last nights break in? If she was I had to play along and hopefully she'll just leave, any nervousness or apprehension could potentially give me away.

"Uh, sure," I answered, "Come on inside."

She smiled and stepped through the door, she flowed is a more accurate description, she was graceful and fit, strong, one of the better hosts if she was one.

I lead her to the phone on the wall, where she thanked me graciously and began to dial. I kept one eye on her and sauntered over to the front window to see if anybody was staking the place out. A couple walked by chatting and holding hands, the woman a little short and slender, the man was huge. He looked a bit uncomfortable, odd.

I heard the girl hang up the phone and I walked back to the kitchen.

"So are you from around here? I've never seen you around before." I stated

"Ah, I am not from around here, we came over from Europe"

"Europe? What country?" I was bothered by that I couldn't place that accent.

"Germany, but we got a better job over here, things pop up and there's good to be done." She smiled again and looked down, seemingly thinking of home. Her accent didn't sound German, but then I'm no expert.

"Did you see that light in the sky a few weeks ago?" She suddenly quipped. I immediately began thinking defensively.

"No, what light?"

"It was over that old construction site, it looked like a craft or something landed"

"Ah, well no I didn't"

"Are you sure?"

What was wrong with this girl? She was practically interrogating me with this line of questioning. I began to edge away, realizing she was most likely a controller at this point, one with very strong suspicion to the true nature of the "Andalite Guerrillas". I had to get away, morph, then surprise her, find out how much they knew.

"Excuse me for a second? I have to use the bathroom." I told her. She nodded.

I closed the door and made sure I had enough room and shed my clothes. Battle morph, hard, strong, and fast. I would need the gorilla this time. I concentrated, felt the changes happen, it wasn't painful, but more like it should have been painful. My arms and legs and chest grew in size tremendously, I could feel the unparalleled strength of the gorilla flow through my body. I carefully opened the door and began moving as silently as my frame would allow.

"Hello?" I heard the girl call out, hearing an odd sound.

I came around the corner fast and caught her by surprise.

"Holy Throne!" She screamed and narrowly dodged my giant fists, just a light tap was all it would take to knock her unconscious. I followed up with mighty swings, things any normal human or Yeerk would not have thought to dodge being too dumbstruck by the sight of a gorilla appearing out of nowhere, but this one was made of sterner stuff, dodging and weaving and by God, even counter-attacking!

She was trained, well I had brute force and an animal endurance on my side, and in the end that was what won it for me. She went to bury a heel in my leathery face and, while it connected, I shrugged it off and grabbed her leg, lifting her up and then down on the floor, her head met the carpet with a massive THUMP. I picked her up by the throat and made to bring her into the basement. I glanced at her and realized she was smiling, I felt I was about to find out why.

Then I did. I tasted copper in the air, like blood. Then my breath began to mist. Then the unthinkable happened, I uncurled my fingers and dropped her gasping to the floor. I was confused, I turned to an older man in the doorway, his face a grimace.

"You're one of the children from that night" He spoke matter of factly, the same accent as the girl.

_You seem to know a lot_ I thought spoke to him.

"It's my business to know" He said

Without thinking, I roared at this man who thought he could stand up to the gorilla.

His response? He grinned and I froze in place, unable to move. I struggled, I strained, and my mind was going nuts. Who were these people? How was this man able to halt me dead in my tracks? I continued to fight it and he frowned.

"I highly recommend you cease your hostilities with us"

_Not likely_ I told him

He said nothing, and appeared to concentrate a bit harder.

Pain.

Excruciating Pain.

My arm was snapped at the elbow like a dry twig. I screamed and roared in agony.

"Change back"

_No_

More pain, my left kneecap simply disintegrated as if struck by a massive hammer, I lay on the ground writhing in agony.

"Change back Marco" The man said, using my name. How did he know my name?

_Nnnngh_

Then my vision went white and I felt like my mind was being torn apart, like my sanity was steadily being eaten at and I felt memories, terrible memories, dragged up and paraded before me like a movie I was unable to stop.

"That was a taste of what I will do to you if you do not cooperate, I will tear your mind asunder and leave a broken, shattered husk of your former self. You will wish you were dead." His facial expression never changed, as if this was routine for him.

I was defeated, I couldn't handle this, I began to transform back into my normal human form. The pain ebbed and I stood before my enemy, ready to end my own life rather than get one of those filthy slugs in my ear.


	6. The Interrogation

The intruder in my home fixed his gaze on me.

"Clothe yourself" He ordered, without a word I did that, eager to replace some of my dignity.

When I reentered the living room he had taken a seat in an armchair

"Making yourself comfortable Yeerk? Or is this part of the game before you enslave me like the rest?" I asked, despair making me bold. The man simply laughed.

"Yeerk. A parasitic alien organism that enters through an opening, the ear? Or the nasal passages perhaps?" He smiled. I simply stared back, confusion beginning to etch my features.

"No child, I am not tainted by the alien filth but I seek information about them, information you appear to have, you will tell me what I need to know." He stated it as fact, like there wasn't a power that could stop him.

"If I refuse?" I ventured

"Then I will ransack your mind, tearing it apart in search of the information I seek, either we talk like civilized human beings or you will find yourself living out your worst nightmares for the rest of your life." He smiled the whole time through these casual threats. I sighed wearily and sat down on the couch.

"What do you want to know?" I asked

"About these Yeerks, what are there strengths and weaknesses? Do they have a base of operations you know about?"

I was reluctant to speak to this man, but I don't think I had a choice.

"They are parasitic like you said, they enter the brain through the ear canal and take total control of the hosts" I paused to see his reaction, nothing, I continued,

"They have access to all memories and mental facilities of the person, able to mimic them perfectly, even their families don't notice, but they do have one weakness…" I tried to suppress the terrible memories of the Yeerk Pool with little success,

"Kandrona Rays, a type of light that they feed off of every three days. They go to a location and the hosts are locked up in cages while their slave masters bathe in the Yeerk pool and absorb the Kandrona."

Without pause he spoke, "Where is this Yeerk pool?"

"Under the school, there's a secret passage in one of the janitor's closets"

"I see" A simple answer, he sat back weighing the information.

"The Alien that was devoured that night at the construction site-"

My blood ran cold.

"You were there!?" I asked hotly

"Yes, do not interrupt me," He warned, "The alien presented you with a box, I was not privy to the psychic conversation you had, explain these events."

"It allows us to morph into any animal we touch, but only for two hours or we're trapped. Forever." I told him,

He sat there digesting what I told him.

"The Emperor's Inquisition thanks you for your cooperation" He stood up to leave. I was unhappy with this.

"That's it? You invade my home, break my arm and leg for that? What am I going to tell my dad?"

"The neighbors think their was a burglary, I suggest you hide and agree with that story."

Him and the girl began to walk away again,

"Who ARE you!?" He turned to face me once more

"I am Inquisitor Wilhelm, of the Emperor's Inquisition, Ordo Malleus."

"What is that? Are you a branch of the government or something?" I asked incredulously

"I serve the interests of the Imperium of Man, no other. Now I bid you good day" He turned to leave as if nothing happened.

I sat back as the wail of sirens became apparent in the distance. I'd better go hide.


	7. The Intruder

My name is Jake

And I'm sure you know by now that I can't just tell you my name or anything crucial about me. Me and my friends call ourselves the Animorphs, Marco coined the term a little while back. I am the leader of our little band of warriors, the unelected one, I didn't want it, I didn't want their lives on me. I have to make decisions that can get people killed, so far I've been incredibly lucky and no one has died…yet.

I was at home, it was the day after our raid on the Yeerk Pool and I didn't have it in me to go to school, I skipped, I knew the parents would be out and Tom…Tom would be at The Sharing, an organization that recruits people then implants a Yeerk in their head. As I lay on the couch and watch bad daytime television just to forget, the phone rings. I reach over and pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey it's Marco, I forgot to do a project last night and I was hoping you'd help me out, its due tomorrow." Something was wrong, we had developed a code to get a hold of each other without saying anything explicit over the phone, it could be bugged, you never know.

"Sure, I'll be over soon"

"Alright, later" He hung up.

He tried to hide it, but I could tell he was frightened, something spooked him bad.

I grabbed a bag and stuffed it with tight fitting clothing, like bike shorts and the like, it was the only form of clothing that could survive the morphing process, apparently the Andalites don't worry about such things as clothing. I didn't think I'd need it, but you never know.

As I rode up to his house on my bike I could immediately tell something was very wrong, the air just didn't feel…right. I couldn't put my finger on it.

I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard Marco call from the other side

"It's me, Jake"

The door opened and Marco pulled me inside.

"Something crazy went down today" He began, "I was just sitting here right? Well there is a knock at the door and this incredibly hot girl is standing there and asks to use my phone. So I decide to play it cool knowing what we did last night. She starts drilling me about the construction site, and then I think she's a controller."

I nodded

"I think, 'maybe I'll turn into a gorilla and knock her out, excuses could be made for stuff like that, there is a zoo close by after all' so I ambush her. She's surprised but manages to dodge and weave and even kick me in the face, several times, for about five minutes."

"Sounds like you've been busy then" I said, dread filling me at the prospect that the Yeerks might know who we are or even that we're human.

"That's not even the crazy part!" He's practically yelling, "An old man walks through the door, looks to be about sixty or in his late fifties, and just tells me to stop. Calm no surprise or emotion or anger or anything!"

"What happened to him?" I asked fearing the answer, I hope Marco didn't kill him.

"Oh he was fine, in fact he was in control the entire time, as if this whole thing was planned out. He already knew who I was. The weird part was that he stopped me from moving without even leaving the doorway, he told me to change back, I refused, then my arm just snapped, then my leg, then he…he did something to my mind, I mean like, he attacked my sanity or something" Marco seemed very disoriented, "He said he wasn't a controller, he started asking about the Yeerks, about their strengths and weaknesses, then he asked about Elfangor, after that he simply got up and left, the girl following him out."

I was dumbfounded, someone else? What were they to us? Perhaps Andalites in human morph?

"Do you know who he was? Did he give a name?" I asked

"He said he was Inquisitor Wilhelm of the Emperor's Inquisition, Ordo Malleus. What does that even mean? He said he didn't serve any government, only the Imperium of Man, whatever that is, then he left. I think…I think he is going to investigate the Yeerk Pool sometime at the entrance to the school." Marco ventured nervously.

I decided we needed to know who this man was and how he did the things he did. We needed to find out if he was going to be with us or against us.

"Call the others, we'll meet a few blocks away from the school and do surveillance on it for suspicious individuals, we're going to establish contact with this guy and figure out whose side he is on."

Marco only nodded and turned around to start getting everyone together.

I walked inside and saw the telltale signs of a small fight, I sat on the couch and began to plan our ambush on this new contender.


	8. The Ambush

Inquisitor Heinrich Wilhelm

My team and I sat out in the darkness, we were observing the schola or the school as people called it in this time. There were a few people casually walking inside every now and then, these were presumably infected with a parasite who was directing them to feed. We were dressed for battle, I in my carapace armour and greatcoat lined with golden thread and the 'I' of the Inquisition embroidered into the shoulders, my compatriots were dressed in their chosen combat attire, we were scoping out the entrance first to determine if their was a system monitoring or guarding it, there didn't appear to be one. These aliens were lax on their security measures, it would prove to be to their detriment. I signaled to my team to move up silently. I scanned the area with my mind and found a massive amount of human suffering right under our feet. My curiosity peaked I walked forward lost in thought.

That's when we were hit.

A bird of prey began harassing Isaac where he was slithering silently forward, we all turned to look, that's when Vera was knocked unconscious, she sprawled about the floor. I didn't quite see what did it. Alise was next, she was attacked by what I remember from my days in the schola as a 'bear' she was quickly incapacitated, when Frederick turned to help her he was brought down by a meaty fist, Isaac finally drove the bird away only to be brought down by a canine of sorts. I couldn't see who or what it belonged to but I was impressed, I had been ambushed. I looked at what incapacitated my team so quickly and there stood a bear, a large striped feline, a gorilla, a wolf, and perched on a nearby tree, a hawk.

I reached out and found I recognized each of these minds, they were the children from the construction site. From what I gathered from my little meeting with Marco, humanity was more or less devoid of psychic activity or any knowledge about it. This would prove to be my advantage, they were not trained to resist a psyker.

_Whose side are you on?_ one of them spoke into my head

"Mine" I replied guardedly.

_Are you another alien then? If not a Yeerk then what?_

I smiled, they didn't know who they were dealing with.

"I am no xeno beast. I am human."

_How did you do the things you did when you questioned me?_ Ah Marco is the one talking.

"That is none of your concern"

_We have you surrounded and we will put you down by force if necessary_ I firmer "voice" chimed in, probably the unofficial leader of this little band.

"You surprised my retinue. You even surprised me, but that won't be enough to save you from my wrath."

The bear snorted and charged me, this one was impatient, and it would suffer for that folly.

_Rachel no!_ The leader voice screamed.

I reached out with my mind to hold its body fast, but this one was dedicated to battle, hate filling their every pore, such mind tricks won't work I concluded. It was too late to dodge and I was rammed back into the woods, my carapace armour absorbing most of the blow.

I rose and engaged the beast in hand to hand combat, I used my abilities to give my strength and speed a boost so that I would deal damage to the animal.

I grinned as my blows hammered home and blood began to weep from a few wounds on the thing's face, clearly the bear wasn't ready for prey that actually stood back up and fought back, then when it was a bit less focused I moved in with my mind. I forced my way in with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, I battered away the confused and defeated mental defenses. Rachel was the bear's name, she wasn't a bear either, she was a young girl, that morphing power, if only I could acquire a cube for myself I could understand it.

I didn't want to break this girl, I would avoid killing these curiosities so I might study the xeno technology behind their little group.

When I became reacquainted with reality, I saw the bear laying there on the ground with a nosebleed and a two black eyes, presumably unconscious, hopefully not dead, as that would kill any chance of future study. No, she lives still. She was beaten, I hoped she'd wake before the two hour time limit. A bear with a human mind is just a bear as far as I'm concerned.

I turned to the rest.

_What did you DO to her!?_

"She's unconscious, if I wanted to kill her, I would have" I stated matter of factly.

_I'll ask you again, whose side ARE you on?_ asked their leader

"Humanity. I'll ensure her dominance, and wipe this alien filth from the planet." I said with conviction. It was true, I'd hunt down every slug and tear them screaming from the heads of their victims.

They seemed to discuss this amongst themselves, having a private telepathic conversation.

_Hey come on, we should get out of here, talk about things in a quiet place you know?_ Marco suggested

I nodded, "It would give us a chance to discuss things, we cannot interfere with each other like this, not when blessed Mankind hangs in the balance."

_Fine, we meet in The Gardens tonight, will you be able to bypass security?_ The leader asked me

"Of course, I'll just wake my team and head there now" I grinned, things were going to start getting interesting, leads on Yeerk infested humans were my hope, I'd need to interrogate one if I was to have any real chance at beating them.


	9. The Garden

Jake

We all flew to The Gardens, discussing what might happen.

_Did you see that?_ Marco asked

_Yes Marco, I did_ I replied

_That guy, he beat the crap out of Rachel in her GRIZZLY BEAR MORPH, do you know what you're getting into? Are you insane?_ He stated incredulously, he was being cautious, maybe even rightly so, but we couldn't ignore someone with that kind of ability.

_He cheated or something, I don't know what happened._ Rachel said, mostly to herself.

I was lost in thought, Marco was right, this guy manhandled one of the strongest animals on earth, and what was this obsession with the supremacy of humanity? Was he part of some fringe cult that has some sort of connection to the Yeerks, perhaps scavenged technology?

_He almost seemed to be psychic._ Tobias said darkly. He was definitely not happy with the beating Rachel received at the hands of this man.

_That's ridiculous, there is no such things as 'Psychics'_ Cassie said, _Maybe it was some form of technology taken from the Yeerks? Or maybe even the Andalites?_ She reasoned, whatever the case, this guy was fanatical in his devotion, but he was not a mindless zealot, he was professional and methodical.

I saw The Gardens come into view and we landed, morphed back to our human forms, and waited, chatting nervously to keep our minds off of the situation we were in.

"Alright, three of you morph something small and hide, in case this turns ugly, you'll be able to carry on resisting the Yeerks." I commanded, I didn't like planning for eventualities like that, but in times like these, you do what you have to.

"but Jake I-" Cassie started, I cut her off.

"Cassie I need you to listen to me, hide, things won't get ugly, but just in case alright? I'll need someone to continue the fight if this doesn't go as planned." I tried to reason with her, she simply nodded and walked away, lost in thought.

I watched Rachel and Marco pretend to argue, they were nervous, they experienced first hand what this guy was capable of. I walked over to them.

"Are you two alright?" I asked

"Of course I'm alright" She said, almost like a growl. Marco shifted uneasily.

"Rachel, you, Cassie, and Tobias are going to hide and continue the fight if things go bad." I ordered

"What!? Jake you can't do this!" She protested

"You're going to get out and fight another day if things go wrong, no questions." I told her. I turned to Marco.

"I need to be here. I can't leave you to fend for yourself you know. What would you do without me?" Marco flashed a fake grin. I grinned back and walked to Tobias, perched on his branch.

_Yes Jake?_ He asked, _permanently stuck in his Red-Tailed Hawk morph._

"Lead Cassie to safety in case things don't quite as well as I would hope."

_Sure thing._ He answered simply. He continued to scan the surrounding area for signs of the people we're supposed to meet up with.

After about an hour he showed up.

"Ah so you must be Jake then," He stated, how could he know my name? Unless they've been spying on us…

"Yeah, and you must be Inquisitor Wilhelm" I responded without ceremony.

He smiled, there was something unsettling about the action, it just didn't sit right with me. There were two people accompanying him, a girl, blonde hair, almost looked like Rachel, except she wore combat fatigues and what appeared to be a flak jacket. She looked at Marco and winked, grinning. The Inquisitor flashed a look of annoyance at her. Marco looked even more uneasy at her cavalier attitude toward this meeting.

"You are correct boy. Now I was hoping we could pool our efforts in stopping the alien menace." He stated, I stared him in the eye.

"That's it? Just like that we're working together now? Who are you? Where are you from? How do you do the things you do?" I asked, hungry for some answers to this mystery.

"I suppose I can give you a few answers then." He stated nonchalantly, "I told you that I am Inquisitor Heinrich Wilhelm, I hail from the Imperium of Man, forty thousand years into the future."

That's it, this man was insane.

"You're from the future? That's what you're going to tell me? Couldn't you have thought of a better lie?" I asked furiously.

"I do not lie child. There powers at work in the galaxy that humanity has yet to discover. In my time, humanity has conquered the galaxy, crushing the vile alien underfoot. We are lead by the Emperor of Mankind, immortal, eternal, a god, He is the master of a million worlds." He stated with conviction, "It is the job of the Inquisition to hunt down heretics, aliens, and the daemonic. Humanity must fight for her survival on a thousand, thousand worlds everyday, only through veneration of our God-Emperor have we retained our dominance of the galaxy."

Then he showed me horrible visions of the future of the human race, mighty spires of gold rising miles into the sky, billions of people praising a man sitting on an awesome throne of gold. Then things from my darkest nightmares tearing into them, drinking their blood and devouring their flesh. There was light that drove them back but did not entirely destroy them.

"How? How is this happening?" I felt tears streaming down my face.

"Simple, I am psychic, we are the next step in human evolution, at the moment, purely a curiosity amongst the teeming trillions of the human race, but in a few thousand more years, Humans will be psychically attuned, then nothing could ever hope to stop the New Men." I could see him smiling as my vision faded and the real world came back into focus. My God, this man wasn't lying, he strength and intellect was vast, far beyond any mere human.

"Alright, we accept your help" I gasped

"Good, now, do you know of any confirmed infected by the Yeerk menace?"

And so we began to plan in earnest.


	10. The Plan

Inquisitor Heinrich Wilhelm

I was pleased with the information the children were able to provide. Attacking the center of Yeerk power would no longer be necessary, there are several outposts for a group called "The Sharing" it is Yeerk run and will provide plenty of Yeerks for us to interrogate.

I decided that while we will pool our information, we will mostly work autonomously from each other, except on some occasions. We developed a system for contacting each other in case of emergencies.

I decided I was going to infiltrate one of these meetings. They accept all people from all walks of life. They were begging for a bug in the system. Vera scolded me for my decision to handle this myself.

"And what if you're caught Heinrich, hmmm? What then?" She demanded

"I won't get caught, you forget who taught you these things my dear."

"Don't 'My dear' me. You should let me or Frederick handle this, we're expendable, you're not." She argued.

I pondered her statement for a moment, she was correct of course, but at the same time I needed to remind my team that their leader is strong, capable, and confident. I did not shirk from my duty to the Golden Throne.

"All the same I'm doing this for myself. My will is indomitable." I said with conviction.

"You realize you're going to let one of those…_things_ in you're head?"

"I'm aware, then when I'm alone, burn it out of my skull. I'm now a "Controller" without a Yeerk and trusted without a doubt. It's going to work smoothly. And if it doesn't I'll have Isaac watching through the scope of his Exitus Rifle the entire time ready to end it in an instant." I told her, this seemed to calm her down a bit. Though she was quite uncomfortable with the idea of me possibly having to be put down like a heretic dog.

"Fine but I want to be at this social function to help you before that happens, I'll mingle and decide not to join if all goes according plan. Is that acceptable my lord?" She inquired with just the barest hint of sarcasm.

"Fair enough" I conceded. I suited up and went off to apply to this alien front organization.

My plan was to observe how things work and get caught snooping through the premises, I wanted one of those things in my head. I walked into the large double doors of the building and made my way into the hall. There was a woman sitting at what appeared to be a clerk's desk. She looked up and smiled.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked, her mind was jumbled, she was one of them.

"Yes, I would like to apply to be a councilor in The Sharing." I stated simply.

"Ah of course, you have your application and all that, yes?" She asked.

I nodded and handed her my papers. She gave them a once over and told me that someone would be around to interview me shortly.

"May have a look around? I'd like to acclimate myself to the area and the kind of people I'll be dealing with." I asked.

"Of course sir, anywhere you like, remember though there are meetings in session in a few of the rooms. I have to ask you not to interrupt them." She replied.

I thanked her and began to feign interest in my surroundings, carefully making my way through the building. These xenos were quite adept at concealing their presence from outsiders looking in, I'll just have to dig deeper then, I concluded.

I began opening doors at random, not bothering to knock, hoping they'd take me for an idiot.

Finally I found the suspicious scene I was looking for. I barged in on one of the "meetings" and there were three men holding down what appeared to be a female student or some other young person, they had her head turned and held her ear just under the surface of a bathtub looking contraption. She was gagged and tears streamed down her face. I feigned surprise and outrage.

"What is this!?" I demanded

The girl seemed to visibly relax then she was allowed to slump to the floor. The men began to advance toward me, their faces grim and set.

"What did you do to that girl?" I inquired already knowing the answer, she was infected. I began to back up, faking terrified shock. It appeared to be fooling my would be captors.

"Grab him" One of them said

"No! What are you doing!?" Two of them grabbed my arms and restrained me. Not that I was truly struggling against them, else they'd already be dead.

"We're going to have to take him, we can't have him blabbing about what he saw."

"I won't tell a soul, please just let me go." I pleaded, I hated it, even if all was according to plan, begging these filthy aliens for anything made me feel ill.

"Sorry old man, wrong place, wrong time." One of them chimed.

They held my head down and place my just below the surface of the disgusting looking water. I felt one of the xeno slugs touch my ear, then I felt it force its way through my ear canal, pushing bones and tissue to the side.

I made sure my alternate personality was in place, a simple trick most agents of the Inquisition are taught so as to protect their minds from foreign perusal. Hopefully it would keep the filth from discovering who I was and just what I can do. If not then Vera was right outside ready to cause some mayhem as she would proceed to force the slug from my brain.

At first it hurt as it entered my head then nothing then…


	11. The Usurper

Belil 2311

I opened my eyes. Well not my eyes, the host's eyes, but they were as good as mine now. He was terrified, confusion filled his brain, I swatted his mind aside with ease. I slowly connected with his motor functions and tried them out. I felt a bit of disgust from the host at my using him, it was swiftly replaced with terror once more.

"I have him, I wasn't expecting my new host to arrive so soon." I said in the host's voice.

"Well, neither were we, he stumbled in on us when we were in the middle of placing one of us in the girl." Answered my fellow, Chapman was what they called him, Egriss 3249 was the name of the Yeerk in his skull.

"I see." I said, I began to take the time to understand my host, what drives him, his ambitions and whatnot.

Daniel Kovac was his name, he was sixty three years old. He served in Vietnam and had two daughters, each bore him a granddaughter. He lived on his own and had a comfortable residence not far from here. His wife died two years ago.

'_Please. Don't make me remember these things_.' He begged. He sobbed. He pleaded.

'_I will do as I please, you should have kept your nose out of business that wasn't yours_' I retorted.

'_I don't want to see the war, I don't want to think about my wife, get out get out get out GET OUT_' He raged, but his heart just wasn't in it. Oh well, a broken host is easier to control, if just a bit more annoying.

"Alright, I'm going to my host's home and am going to make sure everything is under control, we don't need his family to become worried if they decide to see him." I informed my compatriots.

"Be careful, make sure no suspects anything, secrecy is important." Warned Egriss.

I nodded and began to walk back "home"

_'It's not you're home, it's mine'_ Daniel said darkly

'_oh it is as much mine as it was yours human_' I quipped back.

We walked down the street, but there was a shortcut through a small wooded area that this old man often took to get home. Well, that's the way I'll be taking today then.

When the world faded from view and we were in a thick wooded area, my host began to change. I was confused. The terror disappeared, completely.

'_You've seemed to have settled in to your role_ _nicely_' I tried to replace the terror, uneasy at the lack of fear. He didn't respond.

Then Daniel Kovac melted away, the entire personality and memories and everything.

'_You've made a mistake filth_.' This man said, I couldn't pry open his memories, try as I might, it is as if he'd practiced blocking his true thoughts.

'_What is going on here vermin!?_' I wasn't happy with the control my host seemed to have over the situation.

'_I am Inquisitor Heinrich Wilhelm, and you're going to get out of my head_.' He responded ice cold. I was unnerved at his confidence to say the least.

'_And what makes you think that, hmmm?_' I inquired

Then he took control of his hands, clenching them and unclenching them. I tried to stop it. I tried so hard. His will was monstrous, beyond any I had ever felt. With some difficulty he stopped walking, I was commanding his mind to obey me, but to no avail.

"You have no idea what I am capable of Alien filth." He spoke! He took back his vocal chords!

'_How are you doing this!?_' I protested, '_What are you!?_'

Then he opened his mind to me, and I was paralyzed, I didn't know what to do. This was no human man, this was a monster, the atrocities this human has committed in the name of his god were innumerable, he wasn't from here, he has caused the extinction of so many alien species, crushed them beneath his boots and loved every second of triumph. He was old, so very old, hundreds of years, he had something else, like a spark that stood independent and served only his will. I didn't know what I was witnessing, but I knew this could only serve to doom me further.

Then he showed me his plan, he wanted one of us in his head, something to force out then study until we starved to death without our Kandrona rays. Then he did something no Yeerk has ever experienced, he tore into my mind.

'_Lets see here. Belil 2311. I was supposed to be your first human host? Lucky you. You lack any real ambition to rise in the Yeerk hierarchy, but you know of the big names on the planet, good, they'll be that much easier to track and eliminate_.'

'_NO NO NO NO NO NO_' my thoughts were reeling, he was inserting his consciousness into mine, I tried to force the invader from my thoughts, but to no avail. I finally succumbed to despair and wept, now the prisoner in what was supposed to be my prison to run.

'_Now. Get out filth_.' he commanded me with such hatred, but I still fought.

'_I will make you bow to me human_.'

He sighed

'_Then die_.' He said. He began to concentrate and then I felt odd, I felt like my body was beginning to boil, I began to lose grip on reality, things were beginning to fall apart, it didn't hurt particularly but I definitely had enough sense to know something was very wrong. Then I was wracked with agony, every instinct suddenly cried out for me to disengage from the host and I obeyed. I was suddenly blind, deaf, and dumb again and then more pain, I thought of all I could have accomplished for the Yeerk Empire and how unfair it all was with my final, dying thoughts. I started thinking about-


	12. The Message

Cassie

I didn't know what to make of the man called Heinrich. I knew he was ruthless, I knew he was powerful, but I didn't know the depths he would sink to repel the Yeerk invasion. I think he…I think he would sacrifice anything. Anyone. It isn't right. Everyone deserves the chance to live, it isn't right to use everyone no matter the cause…

Jake, Tobias, Rachel, and myself all were flying out to meet the "Inquisitor", as he liked to call himself, for tactical information in regards of his latest plan to get at the Yeerk leadership.

"_What do you think he found?_" Marco asked

"_I'm not sure, but I hope it's worth something. I don't trust the old bastard_" Rachel asserted, she was defeated in battle by Inquisitor Heinrich, she's held a bit of a grudge ever since.

"_Doesn't matter, the man knows what he's doing, it's almost like he's handled situations like this a hundred times before_." Jake was edgy around Heinrich, he was very intimidated by him, he had a vision and claims the Inquisitor made him see it. I have my doubts, psychic means is just ridiculous, it's like saying he used magic. Not to say that Jake is crazy…but, I just don't know.

We each landed in a park, it was mostly empty as it was sundown, we each found secluded spots to morph back to ourselves. The Inquisitor was waiting, sitting on a park bench reading a paper, inconspicuous as usual. He most likely had people hiding, watching the entire exchange, he is a very paranoid man. The girl Alise lay in the grass a ways down on a hill, appearing to be cloud watching listening to a walkman or something, I couldn't quite tell. She kept an eye on everything as well.

He got up smiling greeting us like his nephews and nieces for anyone who just happened to walk by. I didn't like it when that man smiled, it never felt right.

Jake cut right to the chase, "So what did you find Inquisitor?"

"A way into the Yeerk pool, I can simply walk in without suspicion, I mean, provided it is my Yeerk's time to feed" He replied

My blood ran cold, "You're one of them, you trapped us didn't you?" I asked, hoping this was some sort of sick joke, but ready for Hork-Bajir to burst through trees any second now.

"No no no, nothing like that. I did however, let one of the filthy abominations in my head" He grimaced apparently not savoring the memory of the Yeerk's touch.

"WHAT!? You endangered us and our families by almost turning yourself into a controller!?" Marco looked ready to rip the man's head off, I thought I could see him beginning his transformation into a gorilla in an attempt to do so.

"Stay calm Marco, I forced it out, the filthy parasite is dead, after I pilfered it's mind of course." Heinrich assured him, not caring at Marco's reaction.

"How? How did you force a Yeerk from it's host? It would have no reason to let you go." Jake just looked at me as I said this, he seemed to think Heinrich "being psychic" had something to do with it. I was a bit incredulous.

"How my dear? Sheer force of will, I took back my body." He said simply

"Impossible." Rachel sneered

He seemed to rise in height and size, he was insulted at her comment, "The threat of the Xeno is terrible I agree, but it pales in comparison to the enemies I have faced. I have been tempted by champions of Hell, my mind has been assaulted by the disciples of a mad Sorcerer-god, I have clashed my mind, and my will, and my soul against the daemonic for most of my life." He seemed to be recalling memories he found terrible. "I've watched friends and comrades fall all around me as horrors and daemons and heretics all bay for my blood, I have fought on, dispensing cleansing flame and high calibre communion against them and I have prevailed. As a psyker my mind is finely honed to resist invasion and control, lest I become a tool for Dark Gods who have the power to unmake creation. All of you know at an instinctual level what I can do, you feel it, deep within you're souls." Then he turned to me, "You wonder what I did to the Yeerk to get him out of my head? I'll tell you, I rose up, mind, body, and soul as one and forced away the outsider."

"What…what did you do to it?" I asked fearing the answer

"I tore its mind asunder and plucked out the information I wanted, then I burned Belil 2311 in the most painful way I could possibly muster, from the inside out." He said immediately without pity or remorse. It was almost gleeful. It made me feel sick. The others looked unsettled.

"You're…you're a monster." I told him

He simply looked at me and said, "No. That act does not make me a monster."

He concentrated and I what this man has done, I saw worlds aflame with nuclear fire, I saw lines of people lined up and shot, I saw men, women, and children hauled in chains aboard great black ships that reeked of terror and soul consuming despair, the atrocities piled higher and higher, seeming to go on for miles.

"This…is what makes me a monster." He said wearily through the nightmare vision.

"Why…just...why?" I gasped

"Because I must." He answered simply.

"How old are you?" I asked because the time it must have taken to do these things must be far more than the human life.

"412 standard years" It made sense, in a twisted, insane sort of way, I mean he is from the future, or maybe...whatever, the point is crazier things are happening than a man claiming to be 412 years old. I began to wonder what we may have done allying ourselves with this animal.

None of us interrupted as he explained his plan to us, how he planned to rip out the heart of the Yeerks and dance on their corpses. Grinding them into the dirt.

When the message came I thought it was the Inquisitor, but it was something else, something desperate and scared, emotions I'm sure Mr. Wilhelm haven't felt in a long time.  
I felt dizzy and suddenly I heard something, crying out for help, in frustration, the intensity of the message, it was thoughtspeak but broadcast powerfully from wherever it came from it sounded like a distress call, the last thing I remember that day was hitting the ground and all going black.


	13. The Attack

Heinrich Wilhelm

The young Cassie girl fell, then I felt it, a psychic broadcast. Very powerful, very loud.

"What just happened!?" Marco asked, Jake just stared at me, he thought I had something to do with her current state.

"I didn't do this to her, no reason to, another did it, a broadcast of considerable strength, of what you call, thoughtspeak" They should ease their fears about my loyalties I hoped. The girl stirred, woke up and rose from the ground.

"I think…I think there is another Andalite and he's in trouble" she said, very confused as to what was happening, the effects of the blast appearing to be nothing more than mildly disorientating at this point. I found this information to be interesting, but ultimately inconsequential, I had more important things to do.

"Inquisitor we'll handle the Andalite, it may have information or something that could help the effort" Jake offered, I nodded in response, this seemed to be more their forte in any case. Me and the rest of my retinue had an appointment with the Yeerk pool under the school, it was "time for us to feed" I stifled the urge to grin.

"That sounds acceptable, contact me when you need me" I told him. With that we parted ways I headed toward the pool, we were going in, I wanted to research how this filthy species fed and lived while they were away from there hosts.

We waited for night, and strode into the Yeerk pool through the entrance I gleaned from the Yeerk I killed back in the woods, we walked in full battle regalia, armed to the teeth, this was going to be our only foray into the Yeerk pool masquerading as those damned aliens. That wave of human suffering struck my senses long before I was able to hear there piteous cries for salvation. They would find salvation, but not now, not yet. They must suffer a bit more until the threat could be properly assessed and destroyed.

The entrance slid open and we descended a large flight of stairs cut into the stone. I could hear the screams rising up, louder and louder. I looked around at my compatriots, who appeared as though nothing was wrong, though I could feel the dread emanating from their minds. I observed the proper ritual for feeding and approached a pier, the psykers of the group cast illusions of a grey slug falling from our ears and us dressed in normal civilian clothing so as to go without suspicion. We all made a show of being suitably terrified, though we felt no fear, only uneasiness and absolute hatred of these misbegotten abominations. Large xenos, Hork-Bajir if remember correctly, stood guard and patrolled the perimeters, ever vigilant for the "Andalite Bandits" which were actually the children and my retinue.

I scanned the thoughts of all who appeared important, I found names, I found targets, addresses, phone numbers, occupations. In the coming weeks there will be a cleansing throughout this area. High ranking officials will be dead, I will personally see to it. Then I felt it, a wave of anger and hatred akin to a khornate berserker than a rational mind. The Visser himself made an appearance to the Yeerk pool this evening, bellowing at his subordinates for there incompetence, among other things. They looked absolutely horrified at the alien monstrosity.

This was an opportunity that I would not pass up, we had the element of surprise and the ability to simply fall back into the crowd, we would strike and retreat, beheading the Yeerk push on the planet.

With a simple flick of my mind I shattered the locks holding our doors closed and we walked out, calmly and with purpose. I took aim with my plasma pistol, the Visser saw me with one of his stalk eyes, the damned things made it hard to sneak up on him and I could only divert the attention of so many eyes at once.

_TREACHERY_, He bellowed with rage and ducked and ran as I fired catching man he was yelling at in the head, burning the entirety of it off, leaving only the cauterized stump of his neck. Damn, I thought to myself.

"Form up! We're going to do as much damage as we can and blast our way out! Shoot anyone not in those cages! Is this clear?" I ordered, yelling above the din.

"Sir!" my retinue called back in unison. Now we would test the mettle of these xenos.

I turned and blasted a Hork-Bajir and put a whole through its chest twice the size of my fist. It gurgled uselessly and slumped to the ground.

My team and I set up a defense around the cages, using the voluntary humans, those who had defected to Yeerks willingly, and various storage boxes as cover.

Bright beams of energy began to fire from the controllers, from small weapons that appeared to be similar to a handgun. A beam grazed my shoulder singing my longcoat worn over my carapace armour. I cursed and shot another Hork-Bajir, severing a leg, it fell to the ground and writhed in agony, before what I assume to be shock setting in. Alise snapped off shots with her lasgun sending human controllers sprawling, all with smoking holes in their heads. Frederick simply fired his combat shotgun into the mass of panicking controllers, killing as many as possible. We were caught in this firefight for about ten minutes when a few Hork-Bajir organized and flanked us, falling into a melee struggle with those blades that covered their bodies.

"For the Emperor!" I bellowed as loudly as I could muster. I extended one hand and closed it into a fist crushing the trachea of an alien who thought to attack me, I moved on delivering psychic death to all that opposed me and my holy work. Vera roared as she released a torrent of psionic fire into the two xenos bearing down on her, she laughed at their cries of agony. Good girl.

Though through all of that it seemed Frederick was inspiring the most fear. He had slung his shotgun and revved his chainsword, roaring his praise to his Emperor and charging like a man possessed into the attacking controllers, messily goring them and decapitating in increasingly visceral ways. Isaac nimbly weaved through the crowd with a short sword, slashing throats and stabbing eyes.

Then a monster the likes of which I had never seen came bounding forth like a daemon from the warp. It looked vaguely like a carnifex of the damnable Tyranid race, everything about screamed overkill, and I knew that I simply could not stop it in the middle of a melee.

_I don't know who you are, scum, but you will die here and now_, the beast thought spoke. I recognized the mind that inhabited that body, it was Visser Three.

"Fall back!" I ordered, and with some effort I snapped every lock on all the cages that I could see. Hundreds of frantic hosts screamed and stampeded throughout the pool and in that confusion we retreated, using our powers to avoid attention, though we had to act quickly. As we charged up the stairs toward freedom I could hear the fury of the Visser as screamed and roared and cursed at us. It seems he is not used to having his malefactors escape him. And we made it into the fresh air, though not of any tactical value, that little skirmish was good for team morale, they needed to see these monsters bleed, I wanted the Yeerks to feel a little bit of the pain they bring to humanity, blessed be. We avoided the search patrols rather easily and made it to our safe house, laughing and joking the entire time, even Frederick was jovial. Now to wait on Jake and his guerillas, I was curious about the Andalite distress call.

Patience Heinrich, I told myself

Have patience.


End file.
